Northern Ireland

Protesters say they will hold legal and lawful demonstration at the home of Ulster Rugby

Ulster and Ireland rugby player Stuart Olding is currently suspended from the team.
Ulster and Ireland rugby player Stuart Olding is currently suspended from the team. Ulster and Ireland rugby player Stuart Olding is currently suspended from the team.

Organisers have released details of a protest they intend to hold outside the home of Ulster Rugby this Friday, to coincide with the team's first home game since the verdict in the high profile rugby rape trial.

Members of the Belfast Feminist Network have organised a protest at the Mount Merrion entrance to the Kingspan ground at 7pm on Friday, as fans are entering the stadium for the team's match against the Ospreys.

The group have helped organise a number of protests since Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding were found not guilty of rape following a nine week trial.

Jackson was also cleared of a further charge of sexual assault.

The pair remain suspended from playing while Ulster Rugby carry out an internal investigation into the sexist language used by the players in a series of WhatsApp messages sent in the aftermath of a party at Jackson's house in 2016.

The protesters say they have been laising with police to ensure that Friday's protest is lawful and well ordered.

A spokeswoman said: "We will not be on Ulster Rugby's property at any stage and we have spoken to police about what is required to ensure it is peaceful and lawful.

"It will be a 30 minute protest as people are going in to the game, and it will be well ordered.

"The reason for the protest is not to call for the suspended players to be sacked but to demand accountability and action to address the culture of sexism and misogyny in the sport", the spokeswoman added.

Read more: 

  • Stuart Olding's defence barrister tried to have trial halted over Naomi Long tweet
  • Rory Best appearance at rugby rape trial sparked social media frenzy
  • Reporting restrictions lifted with agreement of acquitted men

Rugby fans who started a petition to have the rugby players reinstated have said it was removed from the change.org website following a "high volume" of complaints to the service provider.

The petition was later reinstated and currently has 15,000 signatures. The fans also took out a full page advert in the Belfast Telegraph calling for the players to be reinstated following the not guilty verdict and public apologies by both men.

This came just days after a group of 132 people crowd-funded a similar advert asking Ulster and Irish rugby not to play the suspended players again.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Aid Federation NI, Nexus NI and Mens Advisory Project have said they will be providing a Regional Rape Crisis Service in Northern Ireland due to a concerns about services following the nine week trial.

Jan Melia, CEO of Women’s Aid, said that in the light of the Belfast rape trial, "we and our partners are keen to let victims and survivors know that we are here to support them".

"We have been working on this for the past year and are all too aware of the huge gap in crisis support for all victims of rape in Northern Ireland.

"We are in the process of recruiting volunteers and finalising venues which we will be publicising widely.We will be working in partnership with Nexus, the Men’s Advisory Project, local Women’s Aid groups and other partners to ensure rape victims have all the support that they need when they need it".

Read more: 

  • Stuart Olding's defence barrister tried to have trial halted over Naomi Long tweet
  • Rory Best appearance at rugby rape trial sparked social media frenzy
  • Reporting restrictions lifted with agreement of acquitted men